Britain is ‘home to 35,000 Islamist fanatics’, more than any other country in Europe, top official warns

Britain is home to 35,000 Islamist fanatics, more than any other country in Europe, the EU anti-terror chief has said.

Gilles de Kerchove warned that of those, 3,000 were “’worrying” for MI5.

He also warned Islamic State will attempt a cyber-attack on nuclear power stations or air traffic control systems within five years, potentially by paying paying Russian hackers to break into vital computer systems.

Anti-terror efforts came under fresh scrutiny following revelations that suicide bomber Salman Abedi had been a “former subject of interest” to MI5 who was “subject to review”.

Security minister Ben Wallace said at the time: “All those people are in the mix and they have to be looked at.”

A senior Whitehall source said 18 plots had been foiled since 2013 in Britain, including five since the Westminster atrocity in March this year.

Round-the-clock monitoring of terror suspects is only possible in a handful of cases due to limited resources, the priority of which are determined on factors including credibility of intelligence and the apparent seriousness of the individual’s intent.